Kolkata: As career dynamics evolve and life expectancy rises, India’s workforce is seeking solutions that go beyond traditional retirement planning. Whether it is the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) generation, aspiring entrepreneurs, or individuals navigating career shifts, retirement planners are increasingly prioritising smarter ways to secure a robust retirement corpus. Projections from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021 reveal that by 2050, Indian men and women will live an average of 4-5 years longer, that is for 76-80 years. Hence the need for innovative, flexible, and growth-oriented financial solutions has never been greater.
To address this growing demand, Tata AIA Life Insurance (Tata AIA) has launched the Smart Pension Secure Plan, an innovative Unit-Linked Pension Plan (ULIP) designed to align with new-age retirement needs. From creating second income streams to securing retirement savings, this plan caters to the aspirations of digital natives and modern professionals seeking financial security and independence.
Why Smart Retirement Planning is Critical in Today’s Age
- Longer Life Expectancy: With Indian men and women expected to live longer by 4 – 5 years till the age of 76 – 80 (GBD Study 2021), retirees need a steady income for longer durations.
- Changing Demographics: Millennials, who represent over a third of India’s population (440 million individuals), face the dual challenges of longer retirement and lack of traditional pension benefits.
- Entrepreneurial Mindset: More and more individuals are embarking on major career shifts or launching their own startup ventures. Even as they do so, they wish to ensure that their retirement related needs are addressed, amid the risks of jumping on the entrepreneurial bandwagon.
- Lifestyle Aspirations: Modern retirees want to continue with their lifestyle even after retirement, making market-linked growth opportunities and flexible solutions essential. For instance, many retirees now aspire to buy or upgrade their luxury cars or go for foreign holidays, as they were doing in their earning years. This requires smart financial planning and investing to ensure they can continue to afford these experiences.
- Rising Cost of Living: With medical inflation hovering around 10% and increasing living expenses, retirement plans need to offer not only growth potential but also address evolving needs.
Tata AIA’s Smart Pension Secure Plan is a pioneering step towards addressing these changing trends, offering market-linked growth, flexibility, and peace of mind for consumers aspiring for a secure and fulfilling retirement.
Key Features:
Smart Pension Secure Plan is customised in a way that it helps consumers live a fikar-free life. Some of its key benefits include:
- Plan Early Retirement: Complete flexibility to retire as early as age 45 years!
- Market-Linked Returns: Multiple funds across asset classes with option to allocate 100% funds in Equity. Unlimited fund-switches at no cost.
- Cost Effective Plan: Your entire premium gets invested in the funds of your choice, allowing your money to grow and pave the way for a dream retirement.
- Reward for staying invested: Online purchase comes with added Fund Boosters & Loyalty additions.
- Health Buddy: To ensure a happy and “Healthy” retirement, Health Buddy is a complementary service providing attractive discounts on pharmacy purchases and diagnostic tests at customers’ convenience. The customer can also choose for OPD services by opting for Health Secure Rider.
- Tax Benefits: Save Tax u/s 80CCC and avail 60% Tax free on Lumpsum at Maturity
- Added Protection coverage: In-built Waiver of Premium option to secure family needs at the time of distress.
Smart Pension Secure Plan is available with Tata AIA Alpha 50 Index Pension Fund. The New Fund Offer is priced at INR 10 per unit till January 31, 2025.
Why This Plan is a Game-Changer for Today’s Workforce
- Your Source of Income Post Retirement: The flexibility of market-linked investments, combined with zero premium allocation charges, enables individuals to build a strong financial cushion. By focusing on equity growth, the plan helps create a robust retirement corpus that can support second incomes, entrepreneurial ambitions, or even early retirement.
- Flexible Investing to Adapt to Equity Market Movements: Unlimited, zero-cost fund-switching options empower policyholders to adapt to market conditions, optimising returns to meet their evolving financial goals.
- Designed for Digital Natives: Seamlessly integrated into Tata AIA’s digital ecosystem including new age partners, the plan offers a convenient and intuitive experience for modern professionals who value instant and convenient purchase journeys.
- Lifestyle Security: Whether it is funding your travel aspirations or sustaining a contemporary lifestyle, the plan equips consumers with the tools to design a secure and fulfilling future. The fund’s equity focus ensures continuous wealth creation, making it a reliable choice for those planning for long-term financial independence and growth.
Commenting on the launch, Jeelani Basha, President & Chief Distribution Officer, Tata AIA Life Insurance, said: “Millennials and FIRE aspirants aspire for new age financial planning as they prioritise early retirement and maximum wealth creation. Tata AIA Smart Pension Secure Plan, available on Tata AIA’s website and leading platforms like Policybazaar, Tata Neu, and PhonePe, enables these consumers to take charge of their financial future with ease. This plan is designed for individuals who value flexibility, growth, and a seamless online experience, helping them be Har Waqt Ke Liye Taiyaar in their golden years.”
Digital Convenience at Its Core
The plan can be accessed through Tata AIA’s platforms and its digital partner ecosystem, including Policybazaar, Tata Neu, and PhonePe* enabling seamless, anytime, anywhere accessibility. These collaborations integrate Tata AIA’s customer-first approach with the advanced capabilities of these platforms, ensuring policy purchases without physical documentation. Additionally, the plan’s user-friendly digital interface allows individuals to monitor, manage, and customize their retirement investments effortlessly, offering a streamlined and tech-savvy solution for achieving long-term financial security and post-retirement goals.
Santosh Agarwal, CBO, Life Insurance, Policybazaar, says, “India’s approach to retirement planning is evolving with the growing prevalence of nuclear families and longer life spans. This shift brings forth the need for thoughtful financial planning to ensure one’s post-work years are marked by comfort and independence. Keeping these priorities in mind, Policybazaar is delighted to partner with Tata AIA Life Insurance to launch tailored financial solutions in the form of new-age ULIP pension plans. These plans are a well-structured way to balance growth opportunities with stability for the years ahead. This collaboration reflects Policybazaar’s commitment to equipping individuals with meaningful resources to navigate retirement planning.”
Amreesh Kher, Chief Business Officer – Insurance, Tata Digital said, “With the evolving needs of customers, we at Tata Digital aim to make financial planning easy and accessible for everyone. The Smart Pension Secure Plan, in partnership with Tata AIA Life Insurance, is a step towards helping our users plan for a worry-free retirement, while marking Tata Neu’s entry into the pension space. With this retirement plan, customers can manage their savings and investments digitally and conveniently, ensuring they are well-prepared for every stage of life – all on Tata Neu.”
Nilesh Agarwal – Head of Insurance Business, at PhonePe added, “India’s demographic advantage today comes with the responsibility to prepare for a secure tomorrow. With rising inflation, limited social security, and evolving family structures, the need for robust pension solutions has never been greater. We are proud to partner with Tata AIA to launch the Smart Pension Secure Plan, enabling individuals to take charge of their financial futures with flexibility and confidence, ensuring peace of mind for a worry-free retirement.”
Tata AIA has thoughtfully tailored its plans to cater to the needs of diverse consumers. There are two distinct plan options to ensure that every lifestyle is covered:
Two Plan Options to Suit Every Lifestyle
- Smart Pension Secure: Focused on market-linked investments with flexibility in fund-switching and robust death benefits.
- Smart Pension Secure Plus: Adds premium waiver benefits for continued plan security in case of the policyholder’s demise.
Plan Flexibility
- Entry Age: 35 to 75 years (varies by payment term).
- Vesting Age: Starts at 45 years, with a maximum of 85 years for Single/Limited Pay and 75 years for Regular Pay.
- Policy Term: Ranges from 10 years to the maximum vesting age.
Tata AIA’s Smart Pension Secure Plan empowers millennials to bridge this gap and secure a stress-free retirement.
Policybazaar is registered as a Composite Broker | Registration No. 742, Registration Code No. IRDA/ DB 797/ 19, Valid till 09/06/2027, License category- Composite Broker
PhonePe Insurance Broking Services Private Limited. IRDAI Direct Broker (Life & General) Reg. 766 and Broker Registration Code IRDA/DB 822/20 Valid till 10/08/2027.
Tata Fintech Pvt. Ltd. [TFPL] is a subsidiary of Tata Digital that offers insurance product on Tata Neu app. Tata Fintech is a corporate agent of Tata AIA with Registration no – CA0818.
About Tata AIA Life
Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA) is a joint venture Company formed by Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. and AIA Group Ltd. (AIA). Tata AIA Life combines Tata’s pre-eminent leadership position in India and AIA’s presence as the largest, independent listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world, spanning 18 markets in the Asia Pacific region. Tata AIA reported a total Premium Income of INR 25,692 crore for FY24, up 25% from FY23. The Company continues to rank among the Top 3 Private Insurers in Individual Weighted New Business Premium (IWNBP) with an IWNBP income of INR 7,413 crore. The Individual Death Claims Settlement ratio improved to 99.13%. The Company also achieved industry-leading Persistency performance (based on premiums), ranking #1 in four out of five cohorts.
About the Tata Group
Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata group is a global enterprise, headquartered in India, comprising 30 companies across ten verticals. The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, with a mission ‘To improve the quality of life of the communities we serve globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust’.
Tata Sons is the principal investment holding company and promoter of Tata companies. Sixty-six percent of the equity share capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts, which support education, health, livelihood generation and art and culture.
In 2023-24, the revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was more than $165 billion. These companies collectively employ over 1 million people.
Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently under the guidance and supervision of its own board of directors. There are 26 publicly listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of more than $365 billion as on March 31, 2024.
About AIA
AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR (1), Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Brunei and Macau SAR (2), and a 49% joint venture in India. In addition, AIA has a 24.99% shareholding in China Post Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai more than a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in Asia (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$286 billion as of 31 December 2023.
AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia, AIA serves the holders of more than 42 million individual policies and over 18 million participating members of group insurance schemes. AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock codes “1299” for HKD counter and “81299” for RMB counter with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market under the ticker symbol “AAGIY”.
